Pencil



I. BRICKEN.

PENCIL.

APPLlcATloN FILED JULY 19, 191s.

Patented Aug. 31, 1920.

I km

UNITED STATES JOHN BRICKEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE WAHLCOMPANY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE.

PENCIL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 31, 1920.

Application filed July 19, 1918. Serial No. 245,759.

`\ citizen of Russia, residing atv Chicago, in the county of Cook andState of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPencils, of which the'following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in lead pencils andmoreparticularly to lead pencils of the magazine type.

One object of the invention is to provide a pencil of this' characterwhich shall be provided with means whereby the lead, as the same is Vfedoutwardly by a proper inanipulation of the operating means, ispositively gripped and securely held by said means after themanipulation thereof is discontinued thereby avoiding tlie inconvenienceof having the lead. become accidentally displaced when it is desired touse the pencil or during the use of the same.

Another object resides in the provision of a pencil lof the typedescribed which shall be one which lends itself readily to economicalmanufacture.

Other obj ects and advantages will be more apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with' the accompanying drawings whereinthe preferred embodiment o f the invention is illustrated.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a pencil constructed in accordance withthe present invention. l

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof showing the leadembracing fingers in elevation. y

Fig. 3 is a similar sectional view showing the fingers in section. y

Fig. 4: is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig, 2.

Fig. 6 is-a section on line 6--6 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 7 is a view showing the elements disassembled.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, 10 designates the barrel ormagazine of the pencil provided as usual with an elongated chamber 11 inwhich the reserve .lengths of lead 12 may be stored. Preferablyscrewthreaded into the outer end of this storage chamber 11 is asuitable plug 13 provided at one end with an annular socket member 14,the outer edge of which preferably lies flush with the outer end of thebarrel 10 when said plug is in its operative position. rlhe plug 13 isalso provided with a rearwardly extending. projection 15 of reduceddiameter, the purposes of which will be hereinafter pointed out.Extending outwardly from the annular socket member 14 1s a hollowcylindrical member 16 bifurcated as at 17 to provide a plurality ofspring prongs or fingers 18, said hollow cylindrical member 16 beingsecurely heldY within said socket 14 by meansof a driving fit therein.The spring fingers 18 are 'pref- I erably normallyv urged apart and theadjacent-surfaces thereof are preferably flat substantially asillustrated iny the drawings at 19. l

The operating tip or cap of the pencil is shown at 2O and is designed tobe moved into position against the end of the barrel 10 by moving thesame over the outwardly urged spring fingers 18 'whereby said tip or cap2O is frictionally maintained in its proper adjusted position. Each ofthe lengths of lead in the present improvements is preferably formedwith two diametrically opposite flattened surfaces extending from oneend of the lead to the other, as shown more clearly at 21ofthe-drawings, whereby said lead when positioned between the springfingers 18, is prevented by said fingers from rotating relative thereto.The opening in the outer end of the tip or cap 20 is preferablyscrew-threaded as illustrated at 22 and by bifurcating said outer end,as shown more clearly at'23, a small die is formed of the same. The leadis preferably of substantially the same diameter as the diameter of thescrew-threaded aperture in the outer end of the tip or cap and is firstpositioned therein by removing the tip or cap 2O from the pencil andscrewing the lead the .desired distance through said screwthreadedaperture whereupon the lead will be firmly gripped or held againstlongitudinal displacement relative to Ithe cap. After the lead has beenso positioned in the cap, it is fitted with the flat surfaces thereof incontact with the flat inner surfaces of the i in position by means ofits frictional engagement therewith, as above described. It will also benoted from the foregoing that any rotation of the operating tip or capabout the spring fingers 18 will cause the lead to be fed outwardly orinwardly depending on the direction of rotation.

To charge the pencil, it is merely necessary to remove the tip or cap 20whereupon access to the spring fingers 18 may be had, upon the rotationof which the plug 13 will be screwed out of the storage chamber 11thereby permitting a length of the reserved lead, stored therein, to bewithdrawn and properly positioned in the pencil in the manner, as abovedescribed.

l Should the lead, after it has been screwed through the apertured endof the tip or cap 20, become broken off in such wise as to render itinconvenient to remove the same,

the tip or cap may be removed from the lingers 18, the plug 13 screwedout of the storage chamber 11 and the projection 15 provided on` theinner end thereof inserted in through the large end of the tip or cap 20until the screw-threaded plug 13 engages the screw threads 24 of saidtip or capl whereupon, by screwing the plug into the tip or capv 20, theprojection 15 thereof will force the broken lead out through the smallend of said tip or cap substantially as illustrated in Fig. 7. Thismeans may also be used for removing from the small apertured end of thecap 20 not only broken lead, but dirt, grit or any foreign substancewhich may lodge therein.

As above described, it is preferred to form the strips of lead withoutscrew threads or, in other words, to screw thread the same as they areused by rotating them through the screw-threaded aperture 22 of the cap20. It is, however, obvious that, if desired, the strips of lead may bescrew-threaded when they are made and in such form passed through thescrew-threaded aperture 22 of the cap 20 as it is desired to use thesame. The enlarged end of the cap or tip 20 is preferably provided witha knurled shoulder 25 whereby the same may be readily and easilymanipulated.

While the plug 13 and spring-pronged member 16 have been hereinillustrated and described as separate elements assembled and heldtogether by the frictional engagement of the rear end of said member 16within the socket l-l of the plug, it is obvious that these elementsmight be constructed as one integral unit if desired without in any wayaffecting their proper and elicient functioning and withoutnecessitating any alteration in the construction or arrangement of theparts related thereto.

It is also obvious that various other changes and modifications may bemade in the construction herein illustrated and described and it is not,therefore, desired to limit or restrict the invention except whereylimitations appear in the appended claims.

What I claim is :-`v

1. In a pencil of the type described, a barrel or storage chamber, aplug in the outer end thereof provided4 with an outwardly openingsocket, a spring pronged element designed to fit within said socket andadapted to project outwardly beyond the end of said barrel, a strip offlattened lead designed to fit between said prongs and to be heldthereby lagainst rotation, a rotatable cap fitting over said prongs andheld thereby, and a screw-threaded aperture in one end of said capdesigned to receive one end of said lead and to feed the same inwardlyor outwardly, the screw threads formed on said lead by said feedingoperation serving to maintain the same against accidental longitudinaldisplacement.

2. In a pencil of the type described, a barrel or storage chamber, aplug in the outer end thereof provided with spring prongs adapted toproject outwardly beyond the end of said barrel, a strip of flattenedlead designed to fit between said prongs and to be held thereby againstrotation, and a rotatable cap fitting over said prongs and held thereby,said cap being provided with a screw-threaded aperture at one endthereof designed to receive one end of said lead and to feed the sameinwardly or'outwardly, the

screw threads formed on said lead by said feeding operation serving tomaintain the same against accidental. longitudinal displacement.

In testimony whereof, I have subscribed my name.

JoHN BRICKEN.

